01 July 2012

Poached Pears

I usually avoid fruit desserts. They are naughty things pretending to be healthy. I'd much rather eat something healthy pretending to be naughty. Hence the drunken pears. They feel so naughty as you glug in the red wine, but we all know what happens to alcohol when you cook it down. Sure, there's a little added sugar, but if you leave the double cream off, then this cheeky little number isn't really that bad at all, especially compared to a fruit flan or pina colada. And as easy as whipping up a cocktail...

Ingredients

4 pears, peeled

1 cinnamon quill

1 star anise

250ml rich red wine (eg. Aussie Shiraz)

250ml water

1 tablespoon golden syrup (or brown sugar)

Instructions

plonk all in a pot with a lid, and bake in a 170℃ (340℉) for an hour, turning once.

Serve warm with a quinelle of double cream and a drizzle of golden syrup. Or, if you want to stay dairy free, try a swirl of almond cream or some raspberry sorbet. If you would like to keep it alcohol free, then it is possible to substitute with a dark grape juice and some orange rind. A couple of peppercorns will also spice up the mix beautifully.

1 comment:

Love this line - 'They are naughty things pretending to be healthy'!!!

Very novel - haven't had something like this.

But on a second thought there are some kind of sweets in Bengal called 'Morobba' [am not used to these at all] where it seems that fruits, even some roots of some plants are soaked/cooked like this! I am thinking cherries would also be delicious - thought have to plonk in too many to give the same 'kick' as this single poached pear!